A host of medical devices include a connector bore into which a connector terminal of an electrical lead, or catheter, is inserted in order to make electrical connection with the device so as to form a medical system. Each insulated conductor, extending within a body of the lead, couples a lead electrode and or other electrically activated sensor to an electrical contact element formed on the connector terminal, and each contact element is engaged by a contact within the device connector bore when the connector is fully inserted within the bore. When the connector terminal of a lead is thus coupled to a device and the resulting system implanted within a body of a patient, certain stresses and strains may develop in a transition zone between the body of the lead and the connector terminal; these stresses and strains may lead to conductor failures within the transition zone. Thus, a transition zone designed to mitigate such stresses and strains is needed.